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Sometimes in pregnancy it's not clear what's helpful and what's hype?

Pelvic floor dysfunction is common after pregnancy and childbirth. Many people experience urinary leakage, urgency, or difficulty emptying the bladder; bowel issues such as constipation or accidental leakage; pelvic heaviness or pain; and discomfort during intercourse. These symptoms are often linked to changes in pelvic floor muscle strength, coordination, or tension following birth.

 

Postpartum pelvic floor physiotherapy can help, restoring muscle function, improving bladder and bowel control, easing pelvic pain, and supporting a safe return to exercise and daily activities.
 

Telehealth pelvic floor physiotherapy helps cut through the noise that often surrounds pregnancy and postpartum recovery. With so much advice available, it can be difficult to know what is truly helpful. Evidence-based guidance from a qualified pelvic floor physiotherapist provides personalised support, helping you feel informed, confident, and prepared throughout your pregnancy journey.

Common Pregnancy and Postpartum Symptoms

Pain/Vagina Heaviness

  • Pubic pain with walking, standing

  • Pelvic Girdle Pain (pain anywhere in the pelvis) at rest or exacerbated with activity

  • Heaviness in the vagina when standing, walking or lifting, sometimes eases with lying down

Musculoskeletal Pain

  • Upper back pain postpartum, possibly during feeding.

  • Wrist pain radiating up your thumb (Quervain's).

  • Hand numbness, tingling overnight (carpal tunnel).

Bladder Frequency, Difficulty Emptying and Leakage

  • Increased bladder frequency that is impairing function (more than every hour)

  • Increased nighttime frequency due to bladder feeling full

  • Reduce sensation of the bladder postpartum, no urge pee.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction

  • Involuntary contraction of the pelvic floor muscle with deep pain

  • Intermittent spasm of pelvic floor muscle when inserting a tampon

  • Hard to relax pelvic floor muscle

  • Unable to maintain a pelvic floor muscle contraction

Constipation

  • Straining to do a poo

  • Slower stool transit, either due to pregnancy or iron supplements

  • Moving positions on the toilet do a poo

  • Unable to relax your pelvic floor muscle when doing a poo

  • ​The use of laxatives, stool softeners and fibre supplements that has not helped

Reduce occurrence of stress urinary incontinence 

Research published in 2024 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine demonstrated that pelvic floor muscle training reduced the occurrence of urinary incontinence by 37% and pelvic organ prolapse by 56% compared to control groups. This systematic review analysed 65 studies, highlighting the significant effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle training in the postpartum period.

  (Beamish et al., 2025)

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